As I stated in earlier posts, we went up to Universal Studios for Lizzie's 5th birthday. We headed up on Friday night (5/1/09) and arrived at the hotel around 10:00 or so. The drive up was uneventful except for the construction on the freeway exit we had to use, and closed roads to get to the hotel, but we made it there. The hotel was nice, we stayed at the Royal Pacific hotel on Universal's property. I noticed the "pet park" sign and wondered if we could have brought our dogs. We checked in and got to the room, which was comfortable enough, definitely a hotel I would stay at again.
On Saturday morning, Lizzie woke up and started opening the curtains because it was "morning time, and time to get up." We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and took the boat to Universal Studios. There was no crowd to speak of, which seemed odd for a Saturday, but considering the economy, and the swine flu, I guess people just decided to stay home. We were able to use our room key as an express pass, which made life a little more convenient, but if we had paid for it, I probably would have been upset, since there were really no lines anywhere. When we first arrived, I noticed the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. The coaster looks phenomenal and I cannot wait to ride it. We did all of the rides the kids wanted to, including Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, and Disaster. During our walk around the park, my Mother called to let me know that the dogs got out and ran around the neighborhood for a little while, but the neighbors helped get them back. She said she just wasn't fast enough to get in the front door without letting them out. I said that we would just look for another option next time. After we finished Universal Studios, we went over to Islands of Adventure and rode Spider-Man, then we went back to the hotel so the kids could go swimming.
As the kids were swimming, I stayed in the room just to relax a little bit. While I was watching The Matrix, my phone rang, it was my mother calling. I asked her what happened now, did the dogs get out again? She said that Carsen was gone. I said gone? She said gone, gone. She had put them on the leash outside (there is afternoon shade based on how the house is set up) and left water out there for them. She left for a little bit, when she came back, she saw Carsen laying there motionless. We are still not sure what happened, whether he got into something when he was running aorund, the heat, or if he tried to get out of the leash. I had to go downstairs and tell Brenda. We didn't know what to do, but we didn't want to break it to the kids then, and ruin Lizzie's birthday, so we had to keep it from them the best we could.
We all got back to the room and got ready for dinner, I had made reservations for the character dinner at our hotel. The only characters were Shrek and Fiona (as a human). The waiter we had was really good, and got Lizzie a chocolate cake for her birthday, and was just all aorund very attentive.
Sunday morning, for Lizzie's actual birthday, we had the character breakfast inside Islands of Adventure. Brenda and I were still obviously torn up about Carsen, but, we had to try to have a good time so the kids would enjoy themselves without knowing. The breakfast was a small buffet, one item they had which was actually quite good was the green eggs and ham. I'm assuming it was eggs with food coloring, a slice of ham, cheese, on a bun. The characters that came to the table were Spider-Man, who oddly enough carried on a conversation with the table (you don't normally expect that out of characters), The cat in the hat, and thing 1 and thing 2. After breakfast we started on the rides, I went on Hulk while Brenda and the kids did the storm force accelatron . After that, we started towards Spider-Man but is was closed. We went to the water rides and I rode Dudley Do-Right where I lost my Dolphin hat, with Shane while Lizzie played in the water, then we all went on Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. After we were significantly soaked, we tried to talk the kids into going on Jurassic Park, Lizzie went, and I was stuck going on Dudley Do-Right again. We made our way around the rest of the park including doing both Fire and Ice on Dueling Dragons, and the whole Dr. Seuess area. We got back to the water ride area, and I was stuck doing Popeye with Lizzie 5 times in a row as Shane and Brenda did Dudley Do-Right again. We rode Spider-Man, then because I had to dry off, I did the Hulk two more times.
When we got back to the car, we had to break the terrible news to the kids. We hated ruining Lizzie's birthday, but it's the only thing we could do. Everyone cried for a few minutes, then we were on our way home. We are still deciding what to do next. Sandy seemed a bit depressed for the first day or two, but she seems ok now. We still want to get her another friend, but we need to find the time to actually go out and look.
Showing posts with label Universal Studios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Universal Studios. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Our Universal Spring Break Trip
Since I started with the whole Universal thing for an entry or two, I figured I might as well let you know how the trip went.
We started out by heading up to Orlando late Wednesday morning. After the 180 mile trek on the Turnpike with a stop for lunch, we first went to Downtown Disney, then went to the hotel. At DD, we bought Lizzie a new "Belle" doll, since she lost her other one. We also got the passholder pin, and saw a new store called "Tren-D." Tren-D is very similar to Vault 28 in DD in Anaheim. We saw the shirt that I got for Brenda in California, we also saw a dress that I told her I was considering getting for her, but didn't want to guess on the size. She tried it on and loved it, so we got it. When we got to the hotel, I could have sworn I specifically booked the Holiday Inn across the street from Universal so we could save on the parking expense. When we arrived at the hotel the desk clerk told me I was not booked there and I was booked at the Holiday Inn Express which was about 1/2 mile away. I was sort of upset but after re-looking at the confirmation, I realized I was incorrect.
We arrived at the Holiday Inn express about a minute or two later, and checked in without a problem. The room was nice enough, and big enough for the four of us. The room was a typical suite, two double beds, fold out couch, table, microwave, mini-fridge, and a coffee maker. The bathroom was kind of small, and the sink was out in the main room. One good thing was the wireless internet was free, so we were able to get on-line with Brenda's laptop.
I checked out the restaurants at City Place and made reservations at Pastamore, so we could have something to eat before going to see the Blue Man Group show. We got to the Universal parking attendant at 5:48, and saw that the rates were $3.00 after 6:00, but before 6:00 it was $12.00. When we pulled up, the attendant told us it was $12.00, we decided there was no way we were going to pay $12 for parking when it would be 1/4 of that in 12 minutes. So, Brenda told me to just valet. The valet rate was $20. I then proceeded to drop them off and just wait the extra 9 or so minutes to save the $9.00. I realized there were about 20 or so other cars waiting in line for the same thing. Once 6:00 rolled around, people started going through the gate. I didn't realize they were such sticklers for time at Universal.
I met up with Brenda and the kids at the restaurant. Brenda had already ordered some bruschetta and a glass of wine. Turns out, the bruschetta was the best part of the meal. Brenda got the pesto pasta with chicken (it was a very crappy creamy pesto sauce, and I'm not sure what kind of pasta it was), I got the Chicken Picatta (it looked like a very bad fried thin chicken breast with a little sauce on it and some pasta). The kids both got pizza. The portions were small, and they had no taste. I would not suggest going there if you have a choice when at City Walk. The bill with tip came to $81.50, it really wasn't close to being worth it.
We then went to the Blue Man Group show. There were some elements that were slightly different from their other permanent shows in Vegas and Chicago (I have not seen the NY show). The show overall did not disappoint, and the kids loved it, so if you have not seen them, you definitely need to go.
The first full day, we went to Islands of Adventure with express passes in hand. We first turned in our flyers that we received from the Super Bowl ads without a problem. We got our meal plan tickets as well. As an aside, the meal plan is only worth it if you purchase one adult plan, or one adult and one child. Since we purchased two adult and two childrens meal plans, we did not save any money. In addition, we paid extra for the refillable drinks. The meal plan allows you to go through the line as many times as you would like throughout the course of the day at one of three different restaurants. If you buy one for everyone in your party, you would need to eat at least three times during the day to make it worthwhile, unless you only buy one and the same person keeps going through the lines multiple times to get meals for everybody.
At Islands, we started by going to Spider-Man and stood in the regular (10 minute) line so we could use our express passes later. After Spider-Man, we went to the Pteredon flyers in Jurrasic park, because we thought the kids would like that. The problem with that ride, it has three "flyers" which are two seats each, and the entire ride lasts 1m10s. So, even at that early part of the day, there was still a 45 minute wait. From there, we went back to Dudley D0-Rights ripsaw falls, Shane loved it, but Lizzie was not quite tall enough. So, Shane went twice, once with Brenda then once with me. Since we were already wet, we then went on Popeye and Bluto. Once again, the comparable rides are better at Universal, you get much wetter at Popeye and Bluto then you do at Kali River Rapids. We then decided to have lunch. After lunch, we tried to get the kids on the Jurassic park river ride, since they like water rides, they just didn't want to do it, probably because of the fake dinosaurs, go figure. Brenda then went on Dueling Dragons, and took the kids to the Seuss area. When they left, I went on both sides of Deuling Dragons. I like "fire" a little better because you seem to get weightless, where "ice" has more twists and turns. Either way, they are both good. We went on the Cat in the Hat, and the train ride. Brenda took the kids to the Seuss playground, and I went on the Hulk, twice. When I got back, Brenda went. We then grabbed something else to eat just to try and make use of the meal plan, then went on Spider-Man again. From there it was back to the hotel to relax for a bit, grab a light dinner, then go to sleep.
Friday, we did not purchase the meal plan, but we did get express passes again. The day started out kind of rainy, but once we got in the park, it wasn't bad. We went to Universal, we started on Jimmy Neutron, which was actually a kind of cool ride. It is a "movie" ride, where you sit in seats in a car that bounces around and moves to the movie, kind of like Star Wars at MGM, or The Simpsons. After Jimmy Neutron, we went to Shrek, then Twister. From Twister, we started watching the Blues Brothers show, then I took off to ride the Mummy. When I was done, the show was too, so Brenda rode the Mummy. After that, Lizzie and I did the Disaster Movie ride. For some reason, Shane did not want to go, so he and Brenda stayed outside. We then rode Jaws and grabbed lunch. After lunch, Lizzie insisted on getting her picture taken with the shark, so we did that then rode Men In Black. Shane and I then rode the Simpsons, when he told Lizzie about it, she decided she wanted to go as well. So, Brenda took Shane to the Curious George water park, and Lizzie and I rode the Simpsons. When I met up with Brenda and Shane, Lizzie already had her bathing suit on, and they played around there for a while. We then got them dry and rode ET. After ET, we used our express passes to ride Jimmy Neutron and Shrek again, then went back to Islands to ride the Seuss rides again. Spider-Man had a 45 minute wait, so we decided to skip it. We had reservations at Margaritaville and had dinner there. After a couple of Margaritas, and a Cheeseburger in Paradise, we went back to the room.
We drove home Saturday to get Shane home in time for his hockey game. Overall, we had a great trip, and I'm looking forward to doing it again.
By the way, I had posted riddles Shane had to answer during spring break. I'm reposting the riddles with our answers and the correct answers. Shane came in 2nd in number of correct answers for the class.
What is green and sings?
Our answer: Michigan J. Frog
Correct answer: Elvis Parsley
What do you call a cow on a roller coaster?
Our answer: Milk Shake or Beef Jerky
Correct answer: Milk Shake
What did you use yesterday but made today?
Our answer: Time
Correct answer: your bed
What can go up the chimney down but not down the chimney up?
Our answer: umbrella
Correct answer: umbrella
What is more astounding than a counting horse?
Our answer: a spelling bee
Correct answer: a spelling bee
What goes up and down but stays in one place?
Our answer: Temperature
Correct answer: escalator or elevator
What keys are too big for your pocket?
Our answer: The Florida Keys
Correct answer: The Florida Keys
We started out by heading up to Orlando late Wednesday morning. After the 180 mile trek on the Turnpike with a stop for lunch, we first went to Downtown Disney, then went to the hotel. At DD, we bought Lizzie a new "Belle" doll, since she lost her other one. We also got the passholder pin, and saw a new store called "Tren-D." Tren-D is very similar to Vault 28 in DD in Anaheim. We saw the shirt that I got for Brenda in California, we also saw a dress that I told her I was considering getting for her, but didn't want to guess on the size. She tried it on and loved it, so we got it. When we got to the hotel, I could have sworn I specifically booked the Holiday Inn across the street from Universal so we could save on the parking expense. When we arrived at the hotel the desk clerk told me I was not booked there and I was booked at the Holiday Inn Express which was about 1/2 mile away. I was sort of upset but after re-looking at the confirmation, I realized I was incorrect.
We arrived at the Holiday Inn express about a minute or two later, and checked in without a problem. The room was nice enough, and big enough for the four of us. The room was a typical suite, two double beds, fold out couch, table, microwave, mini-fridge, and a coffee maker. The bathroom was kind of small, and the sink was out in the main room. One good thing was the wireless internet was free, so we were able to get on-line with Brenda's laptop.
I checked out the restaurants at City Place and made reservations at Pastamore, so we could have something to eat before going to see the Blue Man Group show. We got to the Universal parking attendant at 5:48, and saw that the rates were $3.00 after 6:00, but before 6:00 it was $12.00. When we pulled up, the attendant told us it was $12.00, we decided there was no way we were going to pay $12 for parking when it would be 1/4 of that in 12 minutes. So, Brenda told me to just valet. The valet rate was $20. I then proceeded to drop them off and just wait the extra 9 or so minutes to save the $9.00. I realized there were about 20 or so other cars waiting in line for the same thing. Once 6:00 rolled around, people started going through the gate. I didn't realize they were such sticklers for time at Universal.
I met up with Brenda and the kids at the restaurant. Brenda had already ordered some bruschetta and a glass of wine. Turns out, the bruschetta was the best part of the meal. Brenda got the pesto pasta with chicken (it was a very crappy creamy pesto sauce, and I'm not sure what kind of pasta it was), I got the Chicken Picatta (it looked like a very bad fried thin chicken breast with a little sauce on it and some pasta). The kids both got pizza. The portions were small, and they had no taste. I would not suggest going there if you have a choice when at City Walk. The bill with tip came to $81.50, it really wasn't close to being worth it.
We then went to the Blue Man Group show. There were some elements that were slightly different from their other permanent shows in Vegas and Chicago (I have not seen the NY show). The show overall did not disappoint, and the kids loved it, so if you have not seen them, you definitely need to go.
The first full day, we went to Islands of Adventure with express passes in hand. We first turned in our flyers that we received from the Super Bowl ads without a problem. We got our meal plan tickets as well. As an aside, the meal plan is only worth it if you purchase one adult plan, or one adult and one child. Since we purchased two adult and two childrens meal plans, we did not save any money. In addition, we paid extra for the refillable drinks. The meal plan allows you to go through the line as many times as you would like throughout the course of the day at one of three different restaurants. If you buy one for everyone in your party, you would need to eat at least three times during the day to make it worthwhile, unless you only buy one and the same person keeps going through the lines multiple times to get meals for everybody.
At Islands, we started by going to Spider-Man and stood in the regular (10 minute) line so we could use our express passes later. After Spider-Man, we went to the Pteredon flyers in Jurrasic park, because we thought the kids would like that. The problem with that ride, it has three "flyers" which are two seats each, and the entire ride lasts 1m10s. So, even at that early part of the day, there was still a 45 minute wait. From there, we went back to Dudley D0-Rights ripsaw falls, Shane loved it, but Lizzie was not quite tall enough. So, Shane went twice, once with Brenda then once with me. Since we were already wet, we then went on Popeye and Bluto. Once again, the comparable rides are better at Universal, you get much wetter at Popeye and Bluto then you do at Kali River Rapids. We then decided to have lunch. After lunch, we tried to get the kids on the Jurassic park river ride, since they like water rides, they just didn't want to do it, probably because of the fake dinosaurs, go figure. Brenda then went on Dueling Dragons, and took the kids to the Seuss area. When they left, I went on both sides of Deuling Dragons. I like "fire" a little better because you seem to get weightless, where "ice" has more twists and turns. Either way, they are both good. We went on the Cat in the Hat, and the train ride. Brenda took the kids to the Seuss playground, and I went on the Hulk, twice. When I got back, Brenda went. We then grabbed something else to eat just to try and make use of the meal plan, then went on Spider-Man again. From there it was back to the hotel to relax for a bit, grab a light dinner, then go to sleep.
Friday, we did not purchase the meal plan, but we did get express passes again. The day started out kind of rainy, but once we got in the park, it wasn't bad. We went to Universal, we started on Jimmy Neutron, which was actually a kind of cool ride. It is a "movie" ride, where you sit in seats in a car that bounces around and moves to the movie, kind of like Star Wars at MGM, or The Simpsons. After Jimmy Neutron, we went to Shrek, then Twister. From Twister, we started watching the Blues Brothers show, then I took off to ride the Mummy. When I was done, the show was too, so Brenda rode the Mummy. After that, Lizzie and I did the Disaster Movie ride. For some reason, Shane did not want to go, so he and Brenda stayed outside. We then rode Jaws and grabbed lunch. After lunch, Lizzie insisted on getting her picture taken with the shark, so we did that then rode Men In Black. Shane and I then rode the Simpsons, when he told Lizzie about it, she decided she wanted to go as well. So, Brenda took Shane to the Curious George water park, and Lizzie and I rode the Simpsons. When I met up with Brenda and Shane, Lizzie already had her bathing suit on, and they played around there for a while. We then got them dry and rode ET. After ET, we used our express passes to ride Jimmy Neutron and Shrek again, then went back to Islands to ride the Seuss rides again. Spider-Man had a 45 minute wait, so we decided to skip it. We had reservations at Margaritaville and had dinner there. After a couple of Margaritas, and a Cheeseburger in Paradise, we went back to the room.
We drove home Saturday to get Shane home in time for his hockey game. Overall, we had a great trip, and I'm looking forward to doing it again.
By the way, I had posted riddles Shane had to answer during spring break. I'm reposting the riddles with our answers and the correct answers. Shane came in 2nd in number of correct answers for the class.
What is green and sings?
Our answer: Michigan J. Frog
Correct answer: Elvis Parsley
What do you call a cow on a roller coaster?
Our answer: Milk Shake or Beef Jerky
Correct answer: Milk Shake
What did you use yesterday but made today?
Our answer: Time
Correct answer: your bed
What can go up the chimney down but not down the chimney up?
Our answer: umbrella
Correct answer: umbrella
What is more astounding than a counting horse?
Our answer: a spelling bee
Correct answer: a spelling bee
What goes up and down but stays in one place?
Our answer: Temperature
Correct answer: escalator or elevator
What keys are too big for your pocket?
Our answer: The Florida Keys
Correct answer: The Florida Keys
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Skating, Good Books, Movies, and Spring Break
Today is Sunday, so that means ice skating with Eric and Johnny, or at least that's what it typically means, and today was no different. We started with the normal breakfast at The Original Pancake House, where Lizzie continued to do her best to make as much of a mess as possible. Even though the apple juice spilled, she was actually a bit cleaner than normal, especially with her chocolate chip pancakes.
After breakfast, we headed to Pines for the Sunday skate. I had a bit more difficult time both on and off the ice. Off the ice, I kept trying to keep an eye on both kids, after about an hour, Shane decided he wanted to skate, so I had to go out to the car to get his skates, then try to keep an eye on Lizzie while we were all skating. On the ice, I was starting to get aggravated because I should be a little bit better by now. Sure, I'm not expecting to speed around the ice, but, I thought I had my balance down a bit better. Yes, I can somewhat blame my two falls on the potholes in the ice, and the fact that Pines goes 3-4 hours in between cleanings, I just didn't feel as comfortable by the end, what with skating through all the snow and divots. If I get a chance, I may try to go to some weekday evening open skating times, depending on when a closer rink offers the time. My goal is to learn how to play and possibly join an over 40 league or a C2 league, depends on when I'm actually ready. I'm buying equipment piece by piece, and right now all I need is shin guards, elbow guards, socks, and a stick.
We saw 'Race to Witch Mountain' last night with the kids. I suppose for the kind of movie it is, it was acceptable. During the trailers, I realized I am really looking forward to seeing 'Up.' Also, judging by the comments of the Panther game last night, I think we made the correct decision to go to the movies, and not use one of the multiple options we had for free tickets. I hope the Panthers wake up out of whatever dream world they are in to maybe play a hockey game tomorrow.
I bought the book 'Under and Alone' in LAX for my flight home. This turned out to be a very good book. I tend to like the true life tales, especially when they are well written, much like 'Into Thin Air.' The book is about an undercover ATF agent who infiltrates a motorcycle gang, and ends up spending over 2 years under cover with them. The book hooks the reader from the beginning. I would definitely recommend this book for those that like true life stories.
Shane is at the tail end of his extensive ice time weekend. He started on Thursday with his lesson, then he had Mites practice Friday and Saturday. Today is the last Atoms session, then tomorrow he has Mites practice again. Saturday is his first Mites game. We are all looking forward to it. I just hope he doesn't get worn out. Due to the fact that the rink where he is dong Mites is still building their program, there are only a limited number of kids on each team, which means a lot of ice time for all of them.
We got our free 7-day passes for Universal in the mail, so we will probably go there for Shane's Spring Break. We still have to pay for the kids, and hope that a passport is a valid photo id, but, in the end we are saving $200, so that's good. Speaking of Shane's spring break, his homework over the break is to figure out some riddles. I think I have figured out the last two, but if anybody has the answers to any of the others, please feel free.
The riddles are:
After breakfast, we headed to Pines for the Sunday skate. I had a bit more difficult time both on and off the ice. Off the ice, I kept trying to keep an eye on both kids, after about an hour, Shane decided he wanted to skate, so I had to go out to the car to get his skates, then try to keep an eye on Lizzie while we were all skating. On the ice, I was starting to get aggravated because I should be a little bit better by now. Sure, I'm not expecting to speed around the ice, but, I thought I had my balance down a bit better. Yes, I can somewhat blame my two falls on the potholes in the ice, and the fact that Pines goes 3-4 hours in between cleanings, I just didn't feel as comfortable by the end, what with skating through all the snow and divots. If I get a chance, I may try to go to some weekday evening open skating times, depending on when a closer rink offers the time. My goal is to learn how to play and possibly join an over 40 league or a C2 league, depends on when I'm actually ready. I'm buying equipment piece by piece, and right now all I need is shin guards, elbow guards, socks, and a stick.
We saw 'Race to Witch Mountain' last night with the kids. I suppose for the kind of movie it is, it was acceptable. During the trailers, I realized I am really looking forward to seeing 'Up.' Also, judging by the comments of the Panther game last night, I think we made the correct decision to go to the movies, and not use one of the multiple options we had for free tickets. I hope the Panthers wake up out of whatever dream world they are in to maybe play a hockey game tomorrow.
I bought the book 'Under and Alone' in LAX for my flight home. This turned out to be a very good book. I tend to like the true life tales, especially when they are well written, much like 'Into Thin Air.' The book is about an undercover ATF agent who infiltrates a motorcycle gang, and ends up spending over 2 years under cover with them. The book hooks the reader from the beginning. I would definitely recommend this book for those that like true life stories.
Shane is at the tail end of his extensive ice time weekend. He started on Thursday with his lesson, then he had Mites practice Friday and Saturday. Today is the last Atoms session, then tomorrow he has Mites practice again. Saturday is his first Mites game. We are all looking forward to it. I just hope he doesn't get worn out. Due to the fact that the rink where he is dong Mites is still building their program, there are only a limited number of kids on each team, which means a lot of ice time for all of them.
We got our free 7-day passes for Universal in the mail, so we will probably go there for Shane's Spring Break. We still have to pay for the kids, and hope that a passport is a valid photo id, but, in the end we are saving $200, so that's good. Speaking of Shane's spring break, his homework over the break is to figure out some riddles. I think I have figured out the last two, but if anybody has the answers to any of the others, please feel free.
The riddles are:
- What is green and sings?
- What do you call a cow on a roller coaster?
- What did you use yesterday but made today? (I don't think this has anything to do with a b.m., so let's move on from that answer)
- What can go up the chimney down but not down the chimney up?
- What is more astounding than a counting horse?
- What goes up and down but stays in one place? (Temperature?)
- What keys are too big for your pocket? (The Florida Keys?)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
First blog, let's see how it goes
Brenda and I went up to Orlando for the weekend, because one of my friends from work was getting married. We decided to take advantage of the situation and head to Universal. It was a nice break, because we have season passes for Disney, and wanted to test it out to see how much was there for the kids. Well, it turns out that even though they have the Seuss area in Islands of Adventure, and the Toon area in Universal, the parks are not set up for kids the way the Disney parks are.
That being said, we had an awesome time today. When I bought the tickets, I also bought the express pass, which was well worth the money paid. If you ever go to Universal buy the express pass! We were able to get on all the rides we wanted, and I think the longest we had to wait was 15 minutes. We got inside Islands of Adventue around 10:00, we got through all of the rides we wanted to there, had lunch at Margaritaville at 12:30, and we were inside Universal at 1:15, and on our way home at 4:30. So, yes, the express pass is worth it.
One thing that I am now upset about is all the times I wimped out of riding a roller-coaster in years past. I have found that when I try a coaster now, even if I am or was intimidated before, by the time I get off the ride, I am ready to go back. today was the first time I rode the Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and the Mummy. I can honestly say that all three are excellent rides, with the Hulk being the best out of the three. I really wish I didn't wimp out before, I've missed out on so much coaster time waiting for other people to return from the ride. Oh well, those times are over. As for other rides in the two parks, Spider-Man is also still a phenomenal ride, I wasn't that impressed with the Simpsons ride, Shrek was pretty good, and Poseidon's Adventure was almost a waste of time. We didn't do any water rides today, because being from South Florida, 60 degree weather is cold, and we didn't want to walk around being wet.
after the day at Universal, we think we decided we will wait a couple of more years before bringing the kids there, because once again, for their ages, Disney wins hands down. So, it looks like we will be renewing our passes there for now.
aside from that, I'm happy the Panthers won last night, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's game.
That being said, we had an awesome time today. When I bought the tickets, I also bought the express pass, which was well worth the money paid. If you ever go to Universal buy the express pass! We were able to get on all the rides we wanted, and I think the longest we had to wait was 15 minutes. We got inside Islands of Adventue around 10:00, we got through all of the rides we wanted to there, had lunch at Margaritaville at 12:30, and we were inside Universal at 1:15, and on our way home at 4:30. So, yes, the express pass is worth it.
One thing that I am now upset about is all the times I wimped out of riding a roller-coaster in years past. I have found that when I try a coaster now, even if I am or was intimidated before, by the time I get off the ride, I am ready to go back. today was the first time I rode the Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and the Mummy. I can honestly say that all three are excellent rides, with the Hulk being the best out of the three. I really wish I didn't wimp out before, I've missed out on so much coaster time waiting for other people to return from the ride. Oh well, those times are over. As for other rides in the two parks, Spider-Man is also still a phenomenal ride, I wasn't that impressed with the Simpsons ride, Shrek was pretty good, and Poseidon's Adventure was almost a waste of time. We didn't do any water rides today, because being from South Florida, 60 degree weather is cold, and we didn't want to walk around being wet.
after the day at Universal, we think we decided we will wait a couple of more years before bringing the kids there, because once again, for their ages, Disney wins hands down. So, it looks like we will be renewing our passes there for now.
aside from that, I'm happy the Panthers won last night, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's game.
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